If I was tasked with creating a comedy sketch on the most unbelievable experience of horrendous service imaginable- I doubt it would compare to the nightmare I’ve experienced in recent weeks. I found it virtually impossible to leave VM and ended up renewing my last contract, and having a tv box that was faulty for months. When the contract expired this time around and prices skyrocketed, I persevered with giving 30 days notice and signing up with another provider. A few days later, I received a call from a friendly customer care rep, offering me a great deal if I reconsidered staying, to thank me for my 16 years of custom. She gave me some package options to consider and arranged an engineer to fix my tv box. He fixed the box and replaced my hub, and the next day I verbally agreed to the new deal. I then however found my broadband connection terrible, interrupting me from work constantly. I was so frustrated I called to cancel after all and was told I’d have to give another 30 days notice and an engineer would come out the next week. I raised a complaint over the phone and explained that I have ADHD and have found the technical difficulties and processes extremely stressful. I literally sobbed on the call and was told someone would be in touch. The second engineer attended and commented that the hub had been incorrectly installed and was faulty. He seemed to fix it and I received an email saying complaints had tried calling me but I didn’t answer. Today, my Wi-Fi and broadband connection went down - 10 minutes into a job interview over Zoom. I couldn’t get back online for the entire day. I had a call from customer care and the rep told me my connection had been cancelled- even though I only gave my 30 days notice last week. He said there was nothing more I could escalate as a complaint as I am no longer a customer but he’d put me through to another department. The next guy said ‘your service has not been disconnected, it’s in place until July’. He’d put me through to technical support- he transferred my call and guess what? Call disconnected. To add insult to injury, I received an email confirming my complaint was resolved. I have taken my custom elsewhere but I will be contacting the regulators on this, not to mention widely publicising the AWFUL experience I’ve had with VM. I will be pursuing further action for the stress and impact on my work, my prospects for a new role and the injury to my mental health.
